Photokina 'repositions' itself, will become an annual event

Photokina, the biennial photo industry trade show in Cologne, Germany, has announced that it will become an annual event. Additionally, there are plans to diversify the show to include products and technologies beyond its historical focus of cameras and photography.

Beginning in 2018, Photokina will become an annual event, which it says will better reflect the 'fast-paced and briefer innovation cycles' of digital technology. Additionally, from 2019, Photokina will take place in May instead of its historical September slot. The most immediate impact of these changes is that Photokina 2018 will adopt a shorter, more focused schedule, from September 26-29.

As part of the shift to include the wider digital imaging industry, Photokina will broaden its focus, moving beyond traditional core areas to include technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, cloud computing, content management, social media, and smart home applications.

Given the current state of the camera market, these changes aren't entirely surprising, and will hopefully allow Photokina to remain a relevant and vibrant event even as the market for still cameras contracts.

Press release:

Photokina 2018: the world's leading trade fair for photo, video and imaging is repositioning itself

Photokina will take place annually as of 2018. It will in future thus optimally reflect the fast-paced nature and the ever briefer innovation cycles of an increasingly digitalised industry. As of 2019 the trade fair will also have a new date in May. In addition to innovations from the core areas of the imaging workflow, the entire range of products, applications and services of relevance for imaging shall in future be presented in Cologne. With these changes, the transformation process begun in 2016 shall be consistently continued: under the umbrella of "Imaging Unlimited", photokina last year inspired both exhibitors and visitors and accessed new target groups for the industry.

"The digital transformation of the imaging industry is advancing, and thus opening up new perspectives and value creation potential. The new date and the annual cycle should in future make photokina even more attractive to all providers of the imaging ecosystem. In this way, we show the specialised trade, the media and our users an even broader bandwidth of state-of-the-art products, applications and services in Cologne which especially suits the young imaging culture," Rainer Führes, chairman of the board of the photography industry association (PIV) is pleased to state.

The imaging ecosystem today also includes, in addition to the core areas from the imaging workflow, trend areas like virtual and augmented reality, cloud computing, as well as image recognition and holography. The growing flood of images and videos must be processed and administered, so that archiving and content management, social media and communities are coming increasingly into focus. Apps and software solutions have become indispensable both for professional use and for the end consumer. Smart home applications and computer-generated imaging are once again increasing in importance. photokina should in future serve as an important international innovation platform.

Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH, has a positive perspective on the future of the trade fair: “photokina 2016 has shown us that this traditional brand in our portfolio has lost nothing of its attraction worldwide and in the region. The new concept has been a complete success. photokina has continued to develop further over time, as have the products, services and the market environment presented there. Now we are taking the next logical step by offering a digitally powered product environment an attractive annual platform for presenting the latest innovations and for entering into discussion with traders, specialist users and end customers."

For the 2018 event, only the series of days is changing: it will take place from Wednesday, 26.09. to Saturday, 29.09, and thus enables a more compact, more intensive trade fair experience.

Comments

If they ever expand back to the dozen of halls they once were, then 4-5 days (4 plus press day?) is not enough.Even less if they expand the scope to more branches/interests.

To me, most fun of PhotoKina (or any large exhibition) is looking at all the small exhibitors, from (far) overseas. And there is no way you can see all these in 4-5 days (at least not with any meaningful enquiry/consultation/discussion).

Note though that for these small companies, *any* exhibition-presence is a big investment, even more so when travelling around the world (cargo-cost included).So I doubt their presence will increase, if done annually *and* shorter.OTOH, if their life cycle also decreases (product & company), they might like annual more than bi-annual.

OTOH#2: scheduled in May instead of September means that vapour-ware has better chance for Christmas release.(I do wonder however if there won't be more competition with other spring exhibitions; BRD or EU?....post-holiday quieter than pre?)

I wonder if Photokina takes into account the growing market of film shooters. It is still small compared to digital, but several companies started growing their film business again and offering formerly no longer produced films. And especially youngsters who never grew up with film in the first place find interest in it.

These new annual schedule is an indication of the fast times we are in (not only in Ridgemont High) where newfangled contraptions are churned out by imaging companies to cater to the insatiable appetite of the modern spoiled consumer in the form of Jabba The Hutt®.

Tech shows are important. Despite what many say, there is no substitute for them, because in a relatively small area, a visitor can experience first hand many technological options available, and get far more detailed answers than in any shop. Making them annual is good too, because it may lower the rates for exhibitors and better suit companies who have odd or irregular product cycles.

Tech shows are important. Well said TRiplet Perar. In any given market the one who brings in a new idea-product may make a winning move. The best way to evaluate winning ideas-products as well as where things "go to" are tech shows, + lots of talking and socializing there.

Reminds me of what happened to Comdex... (old computer geeks will know what I am talking about. I saw Tony Benet sing at a WordPerfect intro at a Comdex, and that was before Novell then Corel bought them out!) When a market becomes driven by other factors, trade shows take a hit. Locally we had ExpoTech, where I saw my first Nikon/Kodak collaboration VGA DSLR... a $25K proposition at the time. That event is long dead too. Photokina could be seeing the writing on the wall...

Because my reccolection might be tainted, this from wiki: "COMDEX was started by The Interface Group, whose organizers included Sheldon Adelson, Robert Lively and Richard Katzeff. In 1995, they later sold it to the Japanese technology conglomerate Softbank Corp. In 2001, Softbank sold the show to Key3Media, a spin-off of Ziff Davis. After going into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2003, Key3Media resurfaced as Medialive International with a cash infusion from Thomas Weisel Capital Partners, which had previously invested in the company. In November 2006, Forbes magazine reported that United Business Media plc had purchased the events assets of MediaLive International Inc."

Ricoh, like Fuji, builds cameras for fun, not profits. Cameras are a pimple on the side of an elephant at both companies. As long as they: 1) have a powerful executive(s) that want to keep making cameras; and 2) there is a sensor supplier; they will continue. Of course there is not much chance that anyone other than Canon will be making camera sized sensors 5 years from now so the big question is whether they will sell sensors to their competitors.

The funny thing is the schizos in the Ricoh forum, at least one is reported to be a shill for Ricoh, are arguing that Pentax is in nearly second place with Nikon now. Not a joke. I've used Pentax for the last half-decade. The company is a problem and mostly so are the users, who spam any efforts at product improvement and fixes. The mods also tell them how to get threads locked with no penalty- that's why they start lobbing attacks at anyone looking to report firmware bugs or anything else- often led by that shill for Ricoh who was named on another forum in another language.

The biennal time scale was out-dated anyway. To much happens within two years in the industry. Also shorten the event from 5 to 4 days sounds good. Still long enough for me. All these trade fairs have to reinvent themselves, as their original nature is no longer needed in a digital and connected world. I still like them however.

Fewer and fewer manufacturers actually announce new products at these events. Most of them host their own events anyway.

Such big fairs are simply not needed anymore and the market is in steep decline anyway. Let's be honest, nobody except a few pros and enthusiasts gives a d*** about dedicated photography and video products anymore. The new iPhone announcement is more relevant to photography than any camera show can ever be these days.

Furthermore, why would anyone travel to Germany just to look at a few cameras that have already been leaked or announced. I can understand going to such an event in vegas or new York since youcan actually have fun there, but in Germany, not even remotely.

+1. NYC is overhyped, overblown and has been Disney-fied within an inch of its life. It has become a BORING city, focused on money and how you look (to others, on your Facebook page, while you're at the club, etc etc). Almost everything genuine or unique, what used to make the city interesting, has been (or is being) drained away.

The last Photokina fair already indicated that they meant to be more than just showing products and that's why I'm really happy that they decided to make it an annual event.

Photokina is a fair with art exhibitions, workshops, a networking platform and Cologne a nice place to be with a lot of events taking place to accompany the Photokina. It goes way beyond searching the internet for product reviews and than decide what to buy.

So going anual and their upcoming plans go even more in the direction described above to me looks good. I suggest that you just give it a try. Travelling these days is easy.

"Fewer and fewer manufacturers actually announce new products at these events. Most of them host their own events anyway.

Such big fairs are simply not needed anymore and the market is in steep decline anyway. Let's be honest, nobody except a few pros and enthusiasts gives a d*** about dedicated photography and video products anymore. The new iPhone announcement is more relevant to photography than any camera show can ever be these days.

Furthermore, why would anyone travel to Germany just to look at a few cameras that have already been leaked or announced. I can understand going to such an event in vegas or new York since youcan actually have fun there, but in Germany, not even remotely."---Too bad you aren't (i guess) consulting them.

Fun in Vegas?? The ultimate definition for kitsch that imitates real Europe? Probably if you' re a slot machine addict that doesn't mind living in the desert and eating (figuratively) plastic. But each to its own...

I'm in the same place you are. I hate it here. Shallow people and boooooring.

OTOH, Vegas, boring? Only if you insist on following the sheep and doing the typical, boring things that typical, boring people are told that they have to: casinos, stage shows, going out drinking, sitting by the pool, going shopping. Either stay home or put and end to yourself if that's what you consider worthy of a trip.

Actually LEAVE Las Vegas, using it only as a bedroom, and it's an incredible place to be! Red Rock Canyon, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, hiking, skydiving, canoeing, ballooning, rock scrabbling, etc etc etc.

Well, by that measure, I wouldn't say many American cities are worthy at all. NYC is certainly overhyped - talk about "Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live here"! :) It's h-e-double-ll here. What do I tell others? Don't come, you'll hate it here. Food stinks, too crowded, stupid prices, slum landlords, "interesting" if all you care about is money and getting drunk (the "daytime" and "nighttime" activities, respectively).

One of the few cities I like is Denver, what a nice place (nice people, beautiful state!)

New Yorkers constantly think that only NY has culture, restaurants, history and interesting places.

Everyone believes the propaganda that NYC is a "foodie town". *Sure*, there are very good restaurants in NYC...if you are prepared to travel 45 minutes to them (because 1/3 of the subway is shut down during the weekends), then walk 10 minutes to the restaurant, wait to sit and then another 10 minutes just to get your order placed.

Expect to eat in NYC 1 hour after you are actually hungry, if you are going to any restaurant that is considered either somewhat good or interesting.

And that's only on the weekends. During the week you work, so you eat around your job and around home during the night. And too much Manhattan food STINKS. It's a vast wasteland of tourist-approved (read: BLAND and SIMILAR, same dishes in 3 different delis!) in midtown, mediocre food in many neighborhoods.

How many times to the people who say that they love NYC's art and culture...actually go out and DO those things? At $95 to $160 per ticket for Broadway now, not many. I've have people who live in NYC say they've never been to the Statue of Liberty! O.O But NYC is so GREAT for having the things...that they never use!

To me this place is boring. BORING BORING BORING. Same-old same-old every day: money, job, maybe a club or bar for "entertainment", shopping, maybe the occasional cultural experience. Bah. Give me an open sky anyday.

We're comparing cities not locations. Same here, give me an open sky any day!Again, things considered exciting or boring are subjective! I can make fun of what you do too. Whatever you do is boring to me! Watching a hockey, baseball or NFL game for example.

At least those "boring things" are available when we talk about NYC. One can chose to go or not. Obviously your friends don't go for different reasons. One of them could be that they can't afford it.

Your travel "workflow" above is not what I experience. I think you had one bad experience like that and you just generalized. Nothing todo with average reality.

Can you tell me what Denver can offer for food? You say food in Manhattan stinks, but that's your opinion. I can say the same think about food in Denver or Seattle or Rome!

@PhotoUniverse: You forgot the part that said, "I'm in the same place you are". That, meaning: I live here, too :)

I didn't buy into the propaganda. You know what I'm saying is true but New Yorkers just never want to admit it to anyone outside. 34-year olds still living with 2 roommates to afford rents. Nightlife that has DIED: although I wasn't really a client, when CGBG went out all the other unique places followed. 40 minute lines for food trucks, because the food in the business districts STINKS. People working 50 and 60 hour workweeks to make ends meet, sometimes 2 jobs. Unique neighborhood locations and stores...being torn down for yet *another* high-rise condo tower. "So much to do!", yet people so constantly strapped for money that they have to pick and choose. MISERABLE traffic and noise.

I'm from a hip upstate town with restaurants, shops, wine bars, cafes and even 24-hour shopping within a 10 minute walk/15 minute drive away. Plus parks and a waterfall. You can keep NYC!

Considering the dramatic decline in camera sales and new camera announcements, it might make more sense to hold Photokina every three or four years, rather than opening it up for video game consoles and rice cookers.

One way to make Photokina less relevant. Instead of being the biggest photography fair, one which everyone is waiting for, it will be one just like the others every year, with the same products. Manufacturers will prepare even fewer announcements specially for Photokina. But i guess money talks as always.

Latest in-depth reviews

Canon's EOS R, the company's first full-frame mirrorless camera, impresses us with its image quality and color rendition. But it also comes with quirky ergonomics, uninspiring video features and a number of other shortcomings. Read our full review to see how the EOS R stacks up in today's full-frame mirrorless market.

No Nikon camera we've tested to date balances stills and video capture as well as the Nikon Z7. Though autofocus is less reliable than the D850, Nikon's first full-frame mirrorless gets enough right to earn our recommendation.

Nikon's Coolpix P1000 has moved the zoom needle from 'absurd' to 'ludicrous,' with an equivalent focal length of 24-3000mm. While it's great for lunar and still wildlife photography, we found that it's not suited for much else.

The Nikon Z7 is slated as a mirrorless equivalent to the D850, but it can't subject track with the same reliability as its DSLR counterpart. AF performance is otherwise good, except in low light where hunting can lead to missed shots.

Latest buying guides

What's the best camera for under $500? These entry level cameras should be easy to use, offer good image quality and easily connect with a smartphone for sharing. In this buying guide we've rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing less than $500 and recommended the best.

Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Sony mirrorlses cameras in several categories to make your decisions easier.

Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Canon DSLRs in several categories to make your decisions easier.

Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Nikon DSLRs in several categories to make your decisions easier.

What’s the best camera for less than $1000? The best cameras for under $1000 should have good ergonomics and controls, great image quality and be capture high-quality video. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing under $1000 and recommended the best.

Canon's EOS R, the company's first full-frame mirrorless camera, impresses us with its image quality and color rendition. But it also comes with quirky ergonomics, uninspiring video features and a number of other shortcomings. Read our full review to see how the EOS R stacks up in today's full-frame mirrorless market.

We spoke to wildfire photographer Stuart Palley about his experiences shooting the recent Woolsey fire, why the Nikon Z7 isn't quite ready to take a permanent spot in his gear bag, and 'that' Tweet from Donald Trump.

The Z7 presented Nikon with a stiff challenge: how to build a mirrorless camera that measures up to its own DSLRs and can deliver a familiar experience to Nikon users. Chris and Jordan tell us whether they think Nikon succeeded.

Nikon has released firmware version 1.02 that resolves a flickering issue when scrolling through images, an ISO limitation problem, and an occasional crash that could occur when displaying certain Raw files.

The Insta360 One X is the company's latest consumer 360-degree camera, supporting 5.7K video, including excellent image stabilization, as well as 18MP photos. And, in our experience, it's a really fun camera to use.